Stick By Me: A Nerd Jock Hockey MM Romance (Desert Ice Hockey Book 1)
Chapter 1
Istood at the stove and pushed eggs around a frying pan with a spatula. When the hell would Axel and Remy wake up? I’d thought I heard them stirring already, but the Knot Me show at the casino had gone pretty late last night. I flicked my gaze to the clock on the black stove top. It was almost eleven. I’d have to get going to my shift at the Humane Society soon, too. As I added bacon to another frying pan, movement caught the corner of my eye, and I turned my head.
My four-years younger brother, Axel, ambled out of the hallway from the bedrooms, his black hair sticking up at odd angles, a pair of grey pajama bottoms covering his lower half, hiding the remnants of the damned gunshot wound he’d gotten a few years ago. That day had been one of the worst of my life. His crazy tattoos littered his arms and chest.
“Nice to see you, sunshine.” With a smirk at him, I pushed the frying pan of cooked eggs off the burner to stay warm while the bacon cooked, then set a used plate into the sink.
“Yeah, long night.” Axel slid out a chair at our dinette and plopped into it, then rubbed his eyes. “Fuck, I’m not awake yet.” He dropped his forehead into his hand and rubbed.
My gaze wound out the window over the sink and into our yard of landscaping rocks and desert plants, the lantana around the edges of the masonry wall and the large mesquite tree centering the yard, giving some shade from the intense sunshine. “It’s supposed to be a nice day today, not too hot.” November in Phoenix was when the heat of the summer finally gave up. A perfect day to spend outside with the dogs at the rescue, if that’s what they needed today. My gaze caught on my reflection in the window, my brown eyes staring back at me, not blue like Axel’s. My dark, wavy bangs were falling to my cheekbones now. Everyone was growing out their hair, including me.
“You’re doing your volunteer work at the Humane Society today, right?” Axel stood up, then trudged into the kitchen, and poured himself a coffee from the carafe I’d made earlier.
“I am. Since I get volunteer days off at work, I made a deal with my boss to get tomorrow off for the time I’m putting in today.” I turned the crackling bacon over in the pan with a fork.
Axel set his ass against the kitchen counter, the edge of his mouth lifting. “That’s such a cool gig. Getting paid the big bucks to volunteer.” He sipped his coffee.
“Oh my God, that bacon smells so good.” Remy, his curly brown bangs framing his light gray eyes, strolled out from the hallway, his t-shirt pulling tight across his strong shoulders and a pair of black sweats hugging his hips.
“It will be.” I pulled a package of bread out of our refrigerator. “Want to make the toast?” I knew better than to ask my brother. He’d only burn it. Remy, my best friend since we were babies, I could trust with it.
“Sure.” As Remy walked into the kitchen, he wound an arm around Axel’s waist and planted a kiss on his lips. “Morning, lover boy.” He rested his forehead on Axel’s.
With a grin playing over his mouth, Axel said, “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” He rubbed his nose on Remy’s.
I rolled my eyes. “Enough. Get to the toast or we’ll be having an all-protein breakfast.” It was still a little weird seeing my best friend and my brother together like this, but I was happy for them. Axel was perfect for Remy. No one else had the tenacity to break through Remy’s fear of being close to people like Axel had. Yeah, Axel was my very out and very proud brother.
Remy got to work on the toast, sliding bread slices into our toaster, then taking butter out of the refrigerator and jam out of the cupboard.
With a sigh I plated the bacon over a paper towel on a plate. “So, what are you two doing today? Studying?” Axel was still tutoring Remy for his business analytics classes from time to time.
“Yes. I have a test coming up.” Remy grabbed the toast as it popped up from the toaster, then dropped it onto a plate and stuffed his fingers into his mouth. “Fuck, that was hot.”
“Oh, no, did my lover boy burn his fingers?” Axel grabbed Remy’s wrist and inspected Remy’s fingers.
“Get him some ice, Axel.” I plated the eggs and brought everything to our dinette, resting in front of the sliding patio doors looking out into the back yard, then went back for plates and juice.
Axel kissed Remy’s fingers, his gaze locked on Remy’s.
“For fuck sakes, you two. Toast, remember?” I chuckled and shook my head, then grabbed some short glasses from an upper cupboard. Yeah, there was only room for one gay man in my family and that was Axel. I didn’t need a man in my life anyways. I had plenty of women to date. Too bad it never worked out. Maybe someday I’d find the right girl.
Remy slipped more bread in the toaster while Axel tore off a sheet of paper towels, then wrapped them over the ice and brought it to Remy. “Here.” He kissed Remy’s shoulder, then strolled to the dinette with his coffee. “So, what are they making you do at the shelter?”
“Don’t know yet.” I spooned scrambled eggs onto my plate, then added some salsa. “I’ve never actually done this before, so it should be interesting.” I was sure it wasn’t going to be as glamorous as I’d imagined. But I did love dogs, so…
“How much you wanna bet he brings a puppy home?” Remy walked to the table with a plate of toast in his hand, then set it in the center and sat next to Axel and across from me, giving me a wide smile.
“No, we don’t need a puppy around here. We have Axel.” With a chortle, I dug into my eggs and stuffed them into my mouth.
“Okay, okay. I’m cute, cuddly and lovable, right?” Axel fluttered his eyes at Remy.
“Yes, you are.” Remy pinched Axel’s cheek.
“I’m sorry I said anything.” With a scoff, I ate a bite of bacon, then poured some juice into my glass. God, they were so in love. Would I ever find that?
“So, who are you dating this week, Bro?” Axel bit into a slice of toast.
“No one.” I sipped my juice. “I think I’ve dated every woman my age on Tinder already.” I huffed. At least all the women who interested me.
“So, Alicia and Lacy never worked out?” Axel ate some eggs, his brows knitting.
“No, they didn’t.” Here we go. I focused on my plate and twisted my lips. They always wanted an explanation.
“What was wrong with Alicia? I thought you liked her?” Remy held a slice of bacon over his plate and focused on me.
With a shrug, I said, “I did like her.” My gaze met his. “I don’t know, just got bored of her, I guess.” Why was it after a month or so of dating, I always lost interest? Was something wrong with me? Shit, or was it because at some point, I always needed to be with a man? I had to throw those thoughts right out of my head. It was seeing Remy and Axel so happy that put them there. Nothing else.
Axel twisted in his chair to face me. “So why the hell don’t you just date a dude? Maybe then you wouldn’t get bored. Sword fights are the best.” He freed a soft snort. “Right, lover boy?” He held up his coffee cup to Remy.
“Yeah.” Remy tapped his orange juice glass on Axel’s cup. “I couldn’t imagine being with a woman again.”
“Hey, you better not. You’re only allowed to imagine being with me.” Axel threw Remy a mock glare, then grinned.
Taking a deep inhale, I straightened in my chair. If only he knew the truth, he’d shit himself and Mom would…I can’t do that to her, even though she’d accept it. And Dad? I didn’t want to see the disdain on his face. He’d hidden it from Axel, but I’d seen it. “Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be just fine.” I ate more bacon.
“When do you have to leave for the rescue?” Remy ate some eggs.
“In about thirty minutes.” I glanced at my phone, resting on the table. “Can you guys get the dishes?”
“Of course.” Remy nodded while he chewed his food.